In a marathon meeting Monday, the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education narrowly approved its controversial Policy 401 on science education.

The measure passed despite 19 of the 24 speakers opposing the policy during the public comment portion of the meeting. More than half of the two-hour long meeting was devoted to the embattled science education policy discussion and vote.

Board president Lisa Cour said she wanted to postpone the passage of the policy for at least another four weeks, noting she had only a month to study it. The board, however, voted 3-2 against postponement. Kathy Jackson, Marty Scharfglass and Don Schlichte voted against it. Moments later, that trio also voted in favor of the policy, with Cour and Margaret Terry voting against the policy. Most of the people speaking out against the policy were science teachers at Rio Rancho High School. They contended that evolution and Darwinian theory are contained within the state standards for the teaching of science, that Creationism, now with the pseudonym, "Intelligent Design," is not.

The policy states that "the classroom is not be used to indoctrinate students into any religious or philosophical belief system."

"We need to promote tolerance for learning about alternative theories," said pro-policy advocate Hope Garcia, referring to evolution proponents as a "herd mentality dressed in a lab coat."

Cour and Terry agreed with several teachers who said that Intelligent Design would be better suited for a philosophy class, in the Humanities Academy, or as an elective-type of course, not science.

Some worried, with Cour and Terry concerned about the same thing, that a class could be hearing about dinosaurs, for example, and a student could raise a hand and say that, "In the Bible, I read that ... " The teacher would then need to stop the lesson to be sure the theory or ideas the student was asking about were covered.

The schools are having trouble meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind act, Terry pointed out, and to stray from the curriculum to discuss non-curriculum ideas would not be a productive use of class time.

Dan Barbour, SciMatics Academy head, said he wanted to "teach science, not challenge beliefs."

Many of those who agreed with Barbour professed to be Christians but wanted to keep their religious beliefs out of their science classrooms, and one teacher said that "Darwinian theory is a cornerstone."

Brian Wade, a science teacher for seven years at RRHS, said theology should be "taught where it belongs, Catechism." There is no dispute over whether evolution occurred, he continued, "This is a non-issue in science."

Harry Van Buren, a professor at the University of New Mexico, urged the board not to pass the policy, saying, "Science is not democratic nor is it concerned with fairness" and that teachers should spend less time teaching bad science and more time on good science.

Another speaker, agreeing the policy was not necessary, said, "This is politics, this is religion, this is not science."

But Schlichte and Scharfglass contended there have been recent "gaps and inconsistencies" cited in the theory of evolution

Schlichte credited the high school's "good job of recruiting the staff out tonight" to speak out against the policy and noted passage of the policy "is not going to bring down science in Rio Rancho but rather develop critical thinkers."

"I agree with Don," Scharfglass said. "There are new methods of gathering data not around when (the evolution) theory developed. I've been a teacher for 34 years. (The classroom) is the place where you discuss data. You discuss other ideas."

Despite Dr. Sue Cleveland's comment, "We do follow the standards and benchmarks in science," the policy narrowly passed.

In other meeting news, Paul Stephenson, head of the Engineering & Design Academy at Rio Rancho High School, gave a lengthy talk about the opportunities being made available or soon to be made available to students who someday may find a career in any of the engineering disciplines.

Cour lauded Stephenson and the academy's efforts, saying anything that can "entice, excite and educate" students is a plus.

And the schools' bond consultant, Charles Casey, filled the board in on its issuance of $6.5 million worth of bonds, noting market conditions were favorable.

The school board's next meeting is Sept. 12 at 6 p.m.